St. Claire
This page is undergoing wizedits again. Still feel free to add to it if you see a hole you can fill. I just ask you inform me of any changes you make to locations/people you don't own, just so I'm aware. -- Hobbes The City of St. Claire supports a mayor-council government that is the county seat and the most populous city of Gerlord County, Washington, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the city population was 659,098 in 2007, marking it as the second most populous city in the state of Washington and the 20th most populous city in the United States. In 2007, the St. Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated static population of 999,897. Year-round tourism and commercial interests have been known to artificially inflate this number. Originally a mining town, St. Claire rests just west of where I-90 crosses the Columbia River. It has grown into a modern center of trade with somewhat under a million people, and has all the facilities (and problems) of a city that size. It has several suburbs, all to the west of the city. Most of the land to the east of town is on the Regan County side of the Columbia River, forested, either National or State Park land, or private land with the exception of Kent Crossing Township. =History= :See also: History of the Hidden Walk :See also: The Environs of GarouMUSH :See also: Caern Convos Founding Natives information needed here. In 1847, two prospectors, Lan Gerlord and Jebediah Regan, traveling through the area on a long-term prospecting voyage, discovered a vast silver vein in the local hills. The two made a small mine, managing to avoid any trouble with the local natives. By 1849, after a return to St. Louis, Regan and Gerlord came back to the area intent on getting rich. With them was a small group of workers and other prospectors and, as word began to get out, the town of St. Claire was officially founded by that small population. Others arrived later on account of the silver, or Regan's drunken tales of "injun magic" when he was last in St. Louis. The name St. Claire is derived from the unfortunate death of one of the miners, one Thomas St. Claire. The specifics of his death have been lost to history, but stories discuss how he saved Regan's life from various environmental dangers and died in the process. More historicalness. Silver Boom and Civil War Among the group brought back by Gerlord and Regan was a young man, Jerrold R. Hilliard, and his equally young wife. Jerrold opened the first General Store in St. Claire, and later would be known for the gothic edifice Silverwood in the Knoll. 1862, Helen MacDougal becomes a notable name in affluent circles. Moar. Great Depression and Urban Myth Bonus supernatural stuff written as local myth. 1925, reports of hairy, human-shaped creatures living west of town lift local tradition of the supernatural to a historical high. 1933, economic recovery sabotaged as workers are terrorized away from their logging efforts by unknown assailants. 1943, supernatural myth escalates as Vera Oppenheimer reports being attacked by huge, violent wolves, and then saved by equally large, more gentle wolves. Postwar Years 1953, Cold war touches St. Claire with the construction of near two dozen underground bunkers in the case of nuclear attack. Their sizes vary, but even all together they were not designed to hold the entirety of the city; this causes a small scandal. 1971, Hernandez Industrial Steel is defeated in their efforts to rezone the east bank of the Columbia River between the Municipal Bridge and I-90 to allow industrial use. Many parties rally to make this happen. 1990s, some railroads/stations fall into disuse. 1993, alleged military strikes in the forests to the east of the city. Conspiracy theorists claim a massive cover-up. =Geography= Physical Geography here. Climate Climate here. 1995, the most bitterly cold spring on record. Neighborhoods St. Claire can be roughly divided into five sectors: Northeast, northwest, central, southeast, and southwest. Northeast/Historic, Financial Districts Northeast St. Claire is the historic district, which includes the bay and represents the heart and history of the city. A number of high-end businesses and well-established local firms make their homes here, along with newer businesses that make use of the artistic architecture or charm affiliated with things from the past. "Old Money" families tend to dwell in this area. The financial district, also in this area, is where the business powerhouses of St. Claire operate. Northwest/Rich Town Northwest St. Claire is the affluent aspect of the city, where the wealthy--both "old money" and the "nouveau riche"--mingle. The westernmost portion of the city houses a large number of well-patrolled mansions and estates. Shopping areas tend to be high-class and a number of private schools are located here, providing easy access for the elite that wish to shelter their children from the ravages of the public school system. Central/Midtown, Art District Central St. Claire is the proverbial midtown area. Here, government services and the majority of the city businesses exercise their craft. It is also home to the burgeoning middle class of city dwellers struggling to make ends meet while living the lifestyle of credit and being only a couple months paychecks away from losing everything. An art district also struggles to survive in this area. Southeast/Wharf District Southeast St. Clare used to be in better shape before the interstate highway system, in the form of I-90 and the trucking industry, ran roughshod over the local shipping industry. Dethroned from its prior status as the major means of goods transportation to St. Claire, the shipping industry has been significantly weakened and is more cut-throat--and this is reflected directly with the southeast section of the city. Wharfs and warehouses are in a poor state of affairs. Southwest/Industrial District Southwest St. Claire, like southeast St. Claire, has long been in a state of economic and moral decline. This section of town is composed of old factories bordering on being closed down or condemned. What work there is is tedious and low-paying. Most of the factories, after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was enacted, promptly abandoned the area in favor of the much cheaper unskilled labor available in Mexico--leaving behind a swath of marginalized Americans. Littered with the dregs of society and intermingled with the poor, southwest St. Claire is the part of town you don't go to at night, and certainly don't go there by yourself. Everything about the area is dirty and tired. =Demographics= Toss out some numbers BS. Crime 1974, In the springtime, three seemingly-unconnected residents of St. Claire disappear. Evidence appears connecting a drifter, Michael Fielder, to the murders of all three, but he is killed in a confrontation with police before he can be interrogated. The bodies are never found. 1994, "The Cookie Cutter Murders" stump local police until the killings mysteriously stop, only for presumably unrelated attacks and mutilation of women to begin sometime later. These, too, end suddenly after several months. The Plastic Works also closes. Various drug epidemics, including pollutants in the water supply (1996). Occasional bombings linked to gang activities (2003, 2007). Several nonprofits including the Regan Hope Project have been created to alleviate homelessness and criminal activity. Gangs There are several, including the Kings/Royals, and the Bridge Street Brothers (2005). =Government= Lalala politics. 1984, Sara Foster, first woman mayor of St. Claire is elected and holds office for four consecutive terms. =Economy= Lord, save me. GENOM Corporation made of poo Terminus Group SEKRITS Sandrego Enterprises Owned by Adele Sandrego. Precision Products Essentially a tax shelter that owns 24,250 acres of land to the west of St. Claire. They currently maintain this land as a natural wildlife refuge. MondoBank St. Claire Bank and Trust =Infrastructure= Transportation Stuff that moves people. Health General blurb about health in St. Claire. Hilliard Memorial Hospital Hilliard Memorial Hospital was constructed in 1933, and was one of the larger hospitals in Washington, with over 300 physicians (many of whom were specialists in their fields), and numerous SCCU medical and nursing students. 2007 Disaster In 2007, the hospital was destroyed by fires and explosions due to the critical and malfunction of a faulty gas line. No criminal charges were ever filed, despite the loss of life. Several efforts have been made to rebuild the site in the intervening years, but politics and high-level disagreements have stalled the process. A number of small memorials dot the outskirts of the ravaged property. Utilities The city of St. Claire maintains its own water, sewer, and waste utilities, while the St. Claire Energy Authority manages the city's power needs through its own plants, and by buying energy when needed from the larger grid. SCEA Power Plant The St. Claire Energy Authority currently maintains a coal-based power plant near the city. 1999 Disaster In April 1999, the original SCEA Power Plant exploded rather dramatically due to a massive technical glitch and subsequent fire. The explosion cast the entire city into darkness and chaos. A state of emergency was declared, and the National Guard called in to maintain order, with the city implementing curfews to deal with civil unrest and looting. Power was eventually restored some months later, and only protests from residents kept the new power plant from being a nuclear-powered one instead of the traditional fossil fuel plant it remains. The SCEA has since been restructured after many of of its original managers resigned. =Media= Magazines, TV stations, what-have-you. =Tourism= Come to Fabulous St. Claire; we have... things. Shiny things. Silverwood in the Knoll In 1854, Jerrold Hilliard expanded his business and economic interests and branched out into lumber as well as funding prospecting miners, somehow managing to give himself a stranglehold on the local economy. Though he doesn't abuse this position, Jerrold uses the money from his enterprise, plus part of his wife's "inheritance" in conjunction with the loose land laws of the day to buy 100 acres of land to the northeast of St. Claire's, then current, location. He names the land, "Silverwood in the Knoll". Having increased his personal wealth to tremendous proportions in a fairly short amount of time, Jerrold Hilliard begins construction of "Silverwood in the Knoll", a huge monolithic structure. The gothic monstrosity takes over six years to complete. People later speculate curiously as to the 'mysterious' wealth of the Hilliard Family as in the following year, many wagons arrive in St. Claire bearing expensive furnishings for the mansion. The furnishings are quite exotic and some are identified as Egyptian in origin. Parks and Recreation General Information about parks. Harbor Park Phoenix Park Formerly St. Claire Zoo, which closed several years previously. Phoenix Park is now a sports and leisure complex developed and backed by a board of investors and directors that include Tristan Steele and Danae Johnson. Facilities include an exhibition hall and conference rooms, skate park, water park, assault course, climbing wall, children's playground and landscaped parkland. There is also a restaurant, which caters to family diners during daytime hours and offers a more intimate atmosphere and sophisticated menu for evening clientelle. Wolf Woods National Park Wolf Woods National Park (WWNP) was initially formed in 1908 when a substantial chunk of land was ceded to the federal government, then subsumed into the National Park Service with passage of the Organic Act in 1916. Various additions of much smaller sizes have been added up through 1994, when the park reached its current size. Repopulation efforts began in 1989, and continue to be a success. With the recent growth in Kent Crossing, it is unlikely that the park will be able to expand any more to the west, and may eventually lose land if the government declares eminent domain to later support the infrastructure of Kent Crossing. WWNP is best known for the wolf packs being tracked and monitored within its boundaries. However, the most popular attractions with local residents are the camping and water recreation on Lake Arthur. Fishing, swimming, and limited boating (boats with less than a 10HP motor) is permitted in Lake Arthur. SCCU also conducts annual archaeological digs as warmer weather permits. Peak season for WWNP is between May and August, with the winter months leaving the park largely deserted. Camp sites are available for $15 per night, and camp sites with electricity are available for $20 per night. Visitors and hikers are strongly advised to stick to the trails and for their own safety to avoid any wolves or other wildlife that they might encounter. Park rangers are very vigilant about hauling and expelling people who break the rules or endanger the wildlife or forest. =Sports= KICK THE PUCK AND GET A HOMERUN ALREADY. =Religious Institutions= GAIA St. Uriel's =Education= Info about public schools and ALL OF THE THINGS OK 1973, A few weeks before the opening of the '73-'74 school year, Regan Bridge High School burns completely to the ground. Although no one is killed, one of the janitors and two teachers are injured in the blaze. A few weeks later, a student known for drug use is arrested for arson and sent to rehab. Rather than move from RBHS's site, the school board decides to rename the school Martin Luther King Jr. High School and build upon the site of the old building. St. Claire City University Thank god there's info already. =Culture and Contemporary Life= SINGING AND DANCING also coffee Cafes and Eateries They are so delicious. Includes such locations as: Garcia's Pizza Parlor, Bito's Tacos, Pool Halls... Snakes and Lattes The specialty cafe Snakes and Lattes caters to all your card and board game needs! So please, come on in, have an espresso, pull a game from the shelf, and enjoy your stay. =Adjacent Municipalities= St. Claire has several suburbs, predominantly to the west of the city. The city butts right up against its natural eastern border--the Columbia river. Beyond the river to the east, the land is largely forested with the exception of Kent Crossing. Kent Crossing Township Kent Crossing, over the Columbia River, is about 10 miles away from St. Claire. As real estate boomed between 2002 and 2006, this sleepy rural town of 10,000 people has grown substantially to nearly 30,000 people as suburbs were added. Kent Crossing is becoming the "bedroom community" of St. Claire--a place where the middle class can buy a larger house and plot of land for much less than what they would pay in the city. The Kent Crossing Police Department (KCPD) does an adequate job of patrolling the town and suburbs, but lacks the sophistication, equipment, and funding that the SCPD enjoys. Much of the forensics work for the KCPD is farmed out to the SCPD. There is some mild friction between the KCPD and the SCPD, generally resentment/envy over the SCPD's resources. Allegedly, the KCPD is rampant with the "good ol' boy" network and there is almost blatant favoritism towards friends and family of KCPD employees. In 1993, large plots of land in Regan county and bordering on Wolf Woods National Park were bought by Aspen Demilune and a mansion was constructed. The grounds remained untouched and in her hands for only a short time, however. The multi-millionaire land baron disappeared without a trace later that winter. Almost two years after Demilune's disappearance, and with the absence of a will or any surviving relatives, her large tracts of land went on the auction block. Most of the suburbs cropping up today are on these highly desirable lands, and are being rapidly converted into suburbs by people who want to escape the city and get back to nature--so long as "nature" refers to a nice yard and not dense forest with no amenities like electricity, city water, and sewage. Category:Reference Category:Location